FOUR magnificent Amur tigers are being given a hi-tech welcome to their new multi-million pound home in Britain through FaceTime.

The big cats – once known as Siberian tigers, the largest of all felines – are getting an early introduction to life at their new multi-million home by coming face to face with their keepers in live time.

Dubbed FaceTiger, keepers at the Chessington World of Adventures Resort are getting vital up close and personal views of endangered tigers Olga, Tsar, Kalinka and Kyra before they arrive in Surrey.

At present, the cats live at a wildlife park in Sweden but are being brought to Chessington’s multi-million pound Land of the Tiger attraction, with its evolutionary overhead trails for visitors to see the spectacular animals in all their glory, later this spring.

Although Chessington staff have been to see the tigers at first hand in Sweden, its “Carnivore Keepers” are trialling a digital enrichment programme using FaceTime to provide them with valuable insights into the animals’ wellbeing and which also allows them to see how they interact with their favourite toys and other objects used to stimulate their senses at the Kolmarden Wildlife Park.

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The cats are being brought to Chessington’s multi-million pound Land of the Tiger attraction

“We can see that Tsar, the male of the group, is a big house cat at heart.

“Whereas the girls are much more playful and little Kalinka is always sneaking around and getting up to mischief.

“It's a joy to see them via the screen and we've been able to let them hear our voices and practice our calls.

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Chessington says its new Land of the Tiger is the resort’s largest investment in five years

“We really can't wait to welcome them to their new home.”

Video footage released by Chessington shows the tigers padding around their Swedish enclosure in frosty, sub-zero temperatures and then coming up the glass-fronted enclosure to look at their new keepers.

Amur tigers have long been regarded as the largest subspecies, but this tends to only relate to those in captivity, with males measuring almost 12ft from nose to tail tip and weighing more than 700lb.

Their range covers Russia’s far eastern forests as well as those of northern China and the Korean peninsula, a wild, remote area spanning thousands of square miles and yet only supporting 540 individuals.

This figure has come about because intensive conservation work brought the tigers back from the brink of extinction, with as few as 40 animals left alive by the end of the Second World War.

Chessington World of Adventures says its new Land of the Tiger represents the resort’s largest investment in five years and has seen 18 months’ meticulous preparation, working with experts to design a “custom-built space for the big cats to thrive in”.

Speaking about the tigers’ arrival later this spring, Russell Bowes, zoo operations director at Chessington World of Adventures Resort, said: “This is huge news for us here.

“We've been working tirelessly to make sure our tiger quartet will settle in perfectly to their new home and we can’t wait to welcome Olga, Tsar, Kalinka and Kyra to Chessington.

“With three trails connecting three habitats, this is the first enclosure of its kind in Europe, giving the foursome – who, like domestic cats, enjoy surveying their surroundings from up high – the opportunity to roam and explore as they would naturally.”